Learning for Life

“Education is not preparation forlife; education is life itself.”

John Dewey

Education is extremely important to me, now. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I didn’t understand the importance of education. As soon as I graduated from high school, I went straight to work. At the age of twenty, I met Brenton who encouraged me to go to college. When I started my journey in higher education, I realized that I had not done my best in school and wasted a lot of year of my life. Unfortunately, I still didn’t understand education completely, so I wasted many years in and out of college.

One thing that I learned about education is that it does not always occur in a college or university. Many times, students in college are not really receiving an education. They are simply getting through school, so they can get a diploma. After they take a class, the information is gone. There are other students who get to their graduation day and realize that they are not interested in pursuing employment in their field of study and want a different line of work.

Education can occur in a classroom, but most of the time education is learned outside the classroom. When I realized that I needed to pursue education, I started reading books and taking seminars when I was not in a college classroom. This helped me realize what kind of degree and career I wanted, and showed me the purpose of my life. In my case, the purpose for my life is teaching personal development. This revelation showed me that I needed to take human behavior,psychology, counseling, teaching and communication classes. It also helped to take writing and public speaking classes, because my passion is to teach others personal development through speaking and writing.

My question as an undergraduate was, “What do I need to do to educate myself?” There are several steps that I took to pursue my education. These steps are to discover my purpose in education, decide what steps I need to take to get an education, research my purpose and become an expert, take classes from a community college or seminar, work on my college skills, and never quit. Once I had these steps down, I was able to focus and complete each step of my education.

“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”

George Washington Carver

Discover my purpose in education.

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”

Anthony J. D’Angelo

When I started college, I chose music as my major. As I completed my first two years of college, I decided that music was not for me. It was not something I was passionate about. Instead, I decided to complete a business degree. It was perfect for me, because it consisted of human behavior and communication classes. These were apart of personal development, which was my passion.

When I went to a community college, I took classes in music. If I had taken a more wide variety of classes, I might have found my passion sooner. Of course, sometimes, it just takes time to find one’s passion. If you are choosing a degree that you don’t feel passionate about, continue to look until you find your passion.

Sometimes, education doesn’t have anything to do with college. There are some people who become educated and create an extremely successful career. This means they use self-education and training to educate themselves. The point of education is to never stop growing and learning. Colleges are great educational tools, because they keep you accountable and give you a degree that can increase your income.

Decide what steps I need to take to get an education.

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.”

Abigail Adams

What steps you take depends on what purpose you decide to pursue. If you decide to obtain a college degree, then it is important to find the right college and enroll in classes. Some purposes don’t require a degree, but it is still important that you study the subject. There are purposes that need college degrees and certifications, and in other purposes you need a doctorate degree.

When you have found your purpose, write down all the steps you can think of that will help you in your pursuit. Once you have written down all the steps, it is important to ask an expert if you have written down all the steps. They can tell you what you are missing from your list.

For instance, if you want a career as an educator, it is vital that you get at least a bachelors degree and a certification. There may be other requirements for a specialized teacher, so this is where the list of steps comes in handy. As you complete each step, cross it off the list or put a check mark next to the completed step. This will help increase your confidence as you continue through your list.

Research my purpose and become an expert.

“Education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t know.”

Anatole France

The most success and educated people have studied their subject until they are experts. This is important to anyone developing a successful career. For example, when someone decides they want to become a lawyer, they read and learn the laws and what it takes to have a career in law. It is better for a person to study and become an expert even before they take classes. There is a book written almost on every subject, so there is no excuse for lack of knowledge.

When I decided to pursue a career in personal development, I started reading every book on the subject. It was important for me to get all the information I could, so I could write blogs and teach others. Now I am getting my degree in human relations, which includes human behavior and communication classes. These classes are a part of personal development, and I use the information I received from these classes to further my personal development career.

Take classes from acommunity college or seminars.

“Learning is a treasure that willfollow its owner everywhere.”

Chinese Proverb

It also might be beneficial to take classes from a community college or a seminar. Look around at the classes and seminars that are available. It is amazing how many different ones are available all over the world. Workshops are also held to help people practice their skill with an expert.

Work on collegeskills.

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you have something to learn, and this will meanall of your life.”

Henry L. Doherty

Never quit!

“A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.”

Horace Mann

Challenge: Self-educate and become a Lifelong Learner

I think we need to recognize that learning is a lifelong goal, a lifelong experience.

Published by mymaptosuccess

Brenton and Tina have a mission to empower others to succeed through training, one-on-one consultation, review of success books and writing our own personal development book. Brenton has a Bachelors from Boston University, a Masters from the University of Southern California, and is currently working on a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Dallas Baptist University. Tina has a Bachelors from Amberton University, a Masters from the University of Southern California, several Teaching Certifications, Life Coaching and image certificates, and taken several college courses in psychology and counseling. They are both readers and have a thirst for knowledge. Their hope is that this knowledge will help others succeed in their own lives.
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